Nokia releases 'spaceselfie' app to take an out of this world photo

Nokia has kicked off a #spaceselfie contest to go alongside its developer Imagin8 competition. Releasing a new app to the Windows Phone Store, the Finnish company is tasking consumers to download the spaceselfie app, take an awesome shot of oneself with props and other galactic ideas to win a free Lumia Windows Phone.

The app enables consumers to snap photos, choose favourite space backgrounds and apply multiple filters to add a cinematic feel. Spaceselfie itself has been developed to showcase some of the capabilities of the Nokia Imaging SDK, which has just been bumped to version 1.1 with Windows 8.1 support and new filters.

Luckily, if you're unsure how you're going to get a perfect shot of yourself, Nokia has provided 5 helpful tips to get you started:

Strong distinctive background colours work best - like blue, green and red.

You'll need to make sure there's contrast between you and the background and that the background colour is not duplicated in anything you're wearing.

If you're inside try using more than one light to illuminate your background - one from either side.

Make sure there are no shadows, highlights, patterns, wrinkles or creases in the background.

To help create good separation we recommend standing a couple of paces in front of your chosen background. This will also help ensure you don't cast any shadows on the background.

Make sure you follow these rules, whether you are taking a new picture or importing one from your camera roll.

Once you've got the desired end result, share your mug shot with the world on Twitter. Be sure to use the #spaceselfie hashtag or you'll not be entered into the draw. The most original photo will be selected as the winner. We look forward to seeing some rather futuristic and strange photos!

I thought it would be an app that would help you send a Nokia up into the upper atmosphere and take a pic and then track it for recovery or autoupload as it goes up and comes back down while it had connectivity. THATS's a cool "spaceselfie" app. This? Not so much...

Is this a widespread issue? This happened to me as well. I sent it in to Nokia on warranty the first time but now its almost back to the same state. It affects my proximity sensor as well, so the screen doesn't shut off when I'm making a call.

Yes, it was added after nearly 8 months of production if memory serves me correctly. I recently upgraded to a 1020 (I had one of the first 920s produced), and it is nice to see no dust under the glass!